BY MARY FRANCIS MASSON
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Martha Stewart says the essential ingredient in her recipe for success is passion. And she's passionate about getting what she wants.

When a chair she sits in for an interview strikes her as uncomfortable, she sends staff scurrying for a new one. And when she buys towels, she purchases just a washcloth first, takes it home and washes and dries it.

Stewart talked about her successful strategies in a speech Friday to Inforum, a statewide women's business organization, at the Detroit Marriott Hotel in the Renaissance Center. She packed the house; more than 820 people showed up.

Stewart, who drives a Chevy suburban and owns several Ford and Chevy pickup trucks, said she's sensitive to the downturn in Detroit. She said her company has continued to do well because people are entertaining and cooking at home in response to a tough economy.

Stewart's ventures include Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, magazines Martha Stewart Living and Martha Stewart Weddings, marthastewart.com Web site, and Martha Stewart Living Radio. 'The Martha Stewart Show' airs on WJBK-TV (Channel 2) in metro Detroit. Her line of craft products has seen a year-over-year increase, she said.

'People are at home, crafting, learning ... living well while they are trying to figure it out,' Stewart said about the popularity of the products.

Stewart talked a lot about her mother's lessons about home keeping and her father's inspirational influence. 'Martha, girls can do anything,' she said her father told her.

She's upbeat about the future of her company and the American economy.

'We will have a rebound. Consumers will start buying cars again and homes again,' she said.